Speaking after it was reported that the Minister for Finance
attempted to have water charges introduced state-wide in the
budget Sinn Fein spokesperson on the Environment Arthur Morgan TD
said:

``The reported attempts by Charlie McCreevy to impose water
charges state-wide in the last budget provide yet another
example of this government making ordinary people pay through the
nose for the mess that he and his colleagues have made of the
economy. It is clear that Mr McCreevy again sees the pay
packets of the ordinary man and woman in the street as his own
personal gravy train into which he can dip his increasingly
scrooge like and greedy tentacles.

``We have already seen since the budget that people in general
are less well off and in many cases actual incomes are in
decline as a result of inflation, increases in VAT and the rise
in costs of essential services like electricity, gas and health
care.

``But this is not enough for greedy McCreevy. Not content
with the fact that people already pay for services like water
and refuse collections through their general taxation he is
determined to make them pay twice. These water charges are
nothing to do with improving water quality and sewage treatment
- nor are they designed to protect resources. These are
nothing more than unconvincing excuses to impose further
taxation by stealth. Sinn Fein will continue to resist
vigorously all attempts to introduce these unjust service
charges.

``Charlie McCreevy will have to find other sources of revenue
to balance his books. Perhaps he could start with his friends
in the stud farm industry who pay little or no tax or those
in big businesses whose Corporation tax was reduced from an
already lowly 16% to a ridiculously low 12.5%.''